How To Make Crispy Onion Rings

Your family will love these classic diner treats. Crispy onion rings have got great flavor and they're so easy to make!
Prep time: 40 mins.

Cook time: 10 mins.

Ingredients:

2 large onions (Spanish are best), sliced into 1/2-inch pieces

2 cups whole milk

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. ground cumin

2 12-ounce lager-style beers

8 cups vegetable oil (for deep frying)

Step 1

Once the onions are sliced, put them in a large mixing bowl and cover with milk. Allow them to soak for at least 30 minutes. Continue with the next step while these soak.

Step 2

In another mixing bowl, sift together all of the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, chili powder and cumin). Stir in the beer and mix the batter until it is smooth. If you prefer not to use beer, water or milk can be substituted, although you will find a difference in flavor of the batter. Once the batter is mixed well and there are no clumps in it, set it aside.

Step 3

Using a large, deep pot, pour in the vegetable oil to a depth of at least 2 inches. Turn on the stove to medium heat and place a thermometer in the oil. The oil needs to be 400˚F before you can begin to cook the crispy onion rings. Allow the oil to heat and continue on to the next step.

Step 4

Return to the onions. Drain the milk from the onions and allow the onions to dry on some paper towels. It is important that the onions are dry for the next step, so you may need to hand-dry them until they are perfectly dry.

Step 5

Dip each onion into the beer batter and coat well. Use tongs to pull it from the batter and place it directly into the heated oil. Be extremely careful when doing this, as hot oil may bounce back at you once the batter hits the oil. (If you prefer thicker batter on your crispy onion rings, roll the onions in flour after you take them out of the batter.) Onions cannot overlap while cooking, so you can only cook the onions in small batches of 6 or 7. You will need to flip each onion once during the cooking process, once the bottom begins to turn light brown. Each side of the onion will take about 2 minutes, for a total of 4 minutes per batch.

Step 6

Remove the cooked crispy onion rings from the oil and place them on paper towels to allow excess oil to drip off. Sprinkle some salt over the crispy onion rings and serve right away. Serves 6 people.